Travelling through France with Firearms by road

Ronin

Distinguished Member
Hypothetical question;

Travel through France to a sporting shoot in Europe with a few people.


Some are shooting 308, (which one cannot use or hold in France as its a mil calibre)


Can one legally travel through this country, with firerams in that calibre and with ammunition (by road)
 
I can't give you a certain answer to your question Redmist however friends of mine have travelled through France with 7.62mm target rifles to competitions in Germany in the past with no problems whatsoever. I would suggest an email to the French embassy in London to confirm that this is possible. I know that Buckup off this site attempted to get a reply from the French embassy previously when he wanted to drive through France to a holiday home in Italy carrying a .30-06 rifle and failed to get a satisfactory reply which surprises me as when I asked for advise on a firearms matter some years ago I received a full and accurate reply within a couple of days.
One thing that you will need to ensure when carrying firearms in France is that guns are secured in the vehicle even if only a trigger lock is used.
 
Does posting relevant links just not work on this site?

Or, will I just take it personally? :D

The links I posted above are in English and take you directly to the French Customs Authority and tell you what the rules are, which forms you require to fill in and to whom you must address your applications for permits and/or seek further advice. Frankly, short of actually doing the work for people I can't see what would be of more use.
 
Some are shooting 308, (which one cannot use or hold in France as its a mil calibre)

A common misconception - there are many military calibre weapons owned and used in France but they are controlled under a separate licensing procedure and with specific constraints.
 
Does posting relevant links just not work on this site?

Or, will I just take it personally? :D

The links I posted above are in English and take you directly to the French Customs Authority and tell you what the rules are, which forms you require to fill in and to whom you must address your applications for permits and/or seek further advice. Frankly, short of actually doing the work for people I can't see what would be of more use.

Good morning,

I think the links you provided are guidelines when importing or transferring firearms to France (final destination). My personal experience is that there should not be a problem driving through France with a final destination elsewhere.

Only recently I travelled to Germany with a .308 and 30-06 and declared the weapons at the Eurotunnel and experienced no problem at all. Of course, I was in the possesion of an EFP, FAC, copy of invitation, Germand Jagd Schein and had taken the proper security measures in the car etc..

I had also spoken to the Chasseur de France (The National Federation of Hunters) confirming the above. However, I tried to get a written confirmation from the Chambre Syndicale Nationale des Armuriers but they never replied.

Regards

Marcel
 
Take it personally Tamus. :rolleyes:

What permits are you talking about - as you will only be transitting France my understanding is that all that will be required is your European Firearms Passport and written confirmation of an invitation to shoot, but I would certainly want that confirmed by email at least from the relevant authority.
 
A common misconception - there are many military calibre weapons owned and used in France but they are controlled under a separate licensing procedure and with specific constraints.

Quite correct - Permis de Tir rather than a Permis de Chasse. (please pardon my poor French).
 
Take it personally Tamus. :rolleyes:

What permits are you talking about - as you will only be transitting France my understanding is that all that will be required is your European Firearms Passport and written confirmation of an invitation to shoot, but I would certainly want that confirmed by email at least from the relevant authority.

:( Duly taken.

Ok. Redmist says he may be travelling through France. He does not actually say (despite your assumption) whether or not he wishes to shoot in France at all or only "elsewhere" in Europe. We can therefore only infer it at this stage. He does not say whether he is going hunting or target shooting. He does not say how many guns or how much ammunition his party will wish to transport or in how many vehicles.

Therefore, there seemed no point me, or anyone, trying to generate some sort of generic, bland, imprecise, one size fits all, Yes you can or No you can't answer. It is clearly not that simple.

Hence the links to the advice, the advisors, i.e. the "authority" and the proper processes.

I had intended that Redmist could then work out for himself what he will require to do next, since he presumably does have all the answers which we don't.

Saw ree.
 
No Tamus it is I who should apologise as I assumed that Redmist would be passing through France to one of those tactical/sniper type competitions in which he seems to be so successful. :tiphat:
 
Gents, many thanks for the replies (very informed), and very perceptive (some of you)


Yes, I am travelling across to CZ for another "tactical comp", I will be using a non military calibre, however another, is using 308, hence the question regarding travelling through France - the end destination being CZ.


One rifle with ammo for the comp.
 
Here's a cautionary tale after I asked on a French website.

American visiting France, with .30-06 hunting rifle and ammo, gun and ammo impounded by the authorities in Roissy (next to Charles De Gaule airport) and not allowed to move anywhere till he was going home. Much hassle.

He did intend to shoot first in France and then overland into Germany but his gear stayed with the Police in France until he caught his return flight to the U.S.

May I suggest that; if you can get the corect paperwork, do so, or you may be operating on a prayer.
 
The Froggie special police commando's did an excellent job yesterday. the armed siege was over 24 hours long and they didn't even consider surrendering to the terrorist.
 
The Froggie special police commando's did an excellent job yesterday. the armed siege was over 24 hours long and they didn't even consider surrendering to the terrorist.

Sorry bobt but I can't see the relevace to this discussion. It's a very sorry business all together with great sadness for a lot of people.

Tamus the American was either slightly arrogant or silly in not checking the laws before he travelled but it just goes to show how they can deal with things if you don't do it right. It also reminds me of a stalker in this country who sponsored a visiting Belgium a few years back. He didn't make the right checks and the guy turned up with a BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) not realising that semi auto rifles are not allowed. The Belgium wasn't stopped at the tunnel and turned up with the rifle in the boot of the car. The stalker didn't know what to do so just pretended he didn't notice for the duration of the visit and just hoped that they didn't get stopped by the police. He's now far more careful when dealing with foreign clients. I've only ever been stopped when travelling to France by ferry. The customs guys checked my rifles carefully and my paperwork then bid me good hunting. Both rifles were sporting calibres (category 5).
 
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Good information Tamus - if I am reading/understanding this correctly then the transit through France of military calibre firearms is simple and straightforward with no paperwork involved.
 
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